An interesting article by Jose Santos of INSEAD:
Santos notes:
“It was often
assumed that globalisation would only favour large multinationals from the
developed world, which could transfer physical as well as intangible assets
within themselves cheaply and efficiently. Their ability to outsource and
offshore activities to emerging economies ensured costs remained low, thus
strengthening their domination.
But what goes
around comes around. Globalisation also affords local players in emerging
economies the access to the same modular designs, product components, contract
manufacturing, and cross-border M&A opportunities to bolster their
competitiveness in their home markets in ways that weren’t possible in the
past. China’s Xiaomi Inc., for example, sells mobile phones in China which are
engineered and made with technologies, components and manufacturing services by
the same American, Japanese, and Taiwanese suppliers that serve Apple and Samsung.”